Question

Blogs are traditionally online personal journals where the blogger expresses his or her opinion on desired topics. Unlike professional journalists, bloggers typically post because they want to, not because they have been hired to do so. However, Bloggers are increasingly being paid or 'sponsored' to blog.

• Is this ethical or more irritating?
• If a blogger is paid to post his or her honest opinion about a product or service, does that lend credibility to their post?
• Does it change your opinion if the blogger reveals that it is a sponsored/paid blog?
• If you based a purchase on a review posted in a blog that you later found out was sponsored, would you feel misled?
• How, if at all does impact your view on blogging?

Answer 1

1. I don’t think it is unethical, as that is happening with the agreement between the blogger and the company which is paying or sponsoring for the blog. And, the blogger is neither forcing his audience to read that blog. If you think that this specific blogger posts paid or sponsored blogs then you should simply not read his blogs.
2. If a blogger is paid to post his or her honest opinion about a product or service, then that doesn’t lend credibility to their post. As the audience would get the feeling that since he or she has been paid for this blog, so his or her opinion expressed in this blog can’t be honest and might be biased towards the company which has paid or sponsored this blog.
3. Of course, it changes my opinion if the blogger reveals that it is a sponsored/paid blog. As I start feeling that this can’t be a blog with an honest opinion and I should not make my opinion based on this blog.
4. Yes, I would certainly feel misled. As because of the review on that blog and assuming that it’s a very honest review, I purchased the product. And, had I know that this is a sponsored blog, then probably I would have searched for more reviews and might have purchased a better product.
5. It would impact my view on blogging in such a way where I would be more cautious while reading any blog and would like to assure that whether its an honest/unpaid blog or paid/sponsored one. Perhaps, then only I would decide whether I should read this blog or not.